Julia Gibbs Never Went to Paris

Every once in a while I like to put on my designing cap. I do not claim to be an incredible designer, but I like to have a little fun. I make it look good to my eye. Backstage durring the dress rehearsal for my friends play I decided to make a poster for it. Enjoy. =D

Spring Break

I cannot wait for spring break this year. Most college students go someplace to party for a week. That's fun I guess, but I've never been one to really party a lot.

This year: I will be headed to Virginia for an interview with the MFA program at Virginia Commonwealth University. I'm graduating this June with a Bachelors Degree in English with an emphasis in Theater. The program at VCU is exactly what I have been looking for. In fact its one of the few programs that exist in the nation. The MFA in Theater Pedagogy will prepare me to teach theater in the collegiate academic setting, and come back and help the nation. I'm so nervous for this interview, and I hope I do ok. I've been chatting with Dr. Barnes a little bit via email. She does want me to fly out and interview, so it sounds like i have at least a shot. She feels like its worth it for me to fly cross country to interview. Unless she is just screwing with me. (I hope not.)

I cannot wait for this quarter to be over, so I can go out to interview.

My First Stage Reading

It’s official. I think I’m a writer. Today I have my second performance/stage reading of my play “Kingdom Borrowed: A Tragedy.” It’s really exciting. My actors are fabulous, and the director is so talented. (The director is a High School History, Religion, and Drama teacher, who should be directing professionally in the city.) I am so grateful to have this incredible production. I have had to work my ass off for this crew though. I have felt like I need to concentrate everything I am on this reading, even though I have 17 credits of classes this quarter and have been letting that lapse for this reading. Between the first reading last week and my reading this week, I rewrote an entire character, and added a completely new ending. It’s really crazy. At this point I am more concerned about the actors and the show today than I am concerned about my script. I hope they do well today.

My play is about the Tragedy of the Biblical figure of King Saul. The story comes from the book of 1st Samuel. Now, I will warn you, this is no church skit. This is a real life living breathing absurdest modernist Shakespearean tragedy. 1st Samuel has an incredibly tragic character in the representation of King Saul. Of course I am challenging the entire judeo-christian reading of the book, but it’s been very fun to challenge my overtly christian audience to rethink the story. Instead of focusing on David, we should think about the supressed and marginalized characters.

It’s really nerve wracking today. My family is coming up. Mom, Dad, Grandma, Aunt, Couzin. It’s going to be crazy. A couple of girls i’m interested in are coming to see my work too. Which is just as scary. Consider me a nervous wreck.

I need to go help copy programs and fold them. Maybe it will keep me from throwing up out of nervousness.

Momento Mori

As many of you know: I am a huge musical nerd. Something made me think of a musical this week. It was in the place I least expected.

This week: Professor Jimmy Ha spoke for colloquy. The title of his message was: Momento Mori. He elaborated by searching for what unites us. Jimmy Ha is currently in the middle of a loosing battle with cancer. He is stage four pancreatic. To have him speak for my senior recognition was an honor. He is a gentleman and a scholar. He mused that there are many things that hold us together and unite us as humans and as a community of faith and learning. But what holds us together the most is death. All of us shall die.

Ha told a story of a Roman general who would return from war parading in triumph into Rome to the adulation of the crowd. While he was doing so a slave whispered into his ear, “Momento Mori.” Remember you shall die. It is a call to humility. Ha continued and ended with his thesis that perhaps what truly unites us when we think about live and death is the desire, the need, and the capacity to love and be loved.

This could not help me from thinking about the musical RENT. Fairly early into the musical there is a song sung by a group of people dieing of AIDS. The song is called life support: They sing:

Look. I find some of what you teach suspect.
Because I’m used to relying on intellect.
But I try to open up to what I don’t know.


Because reason says I should have died
three years ago.


There’s only us.
There’s only this.
Forget regret.
Or life is your’s to miss.
No other road
No other day.
No day but today.

At the core of this both Ha’s message and this song is the need and desire of someone else. A community. Love must go both ways. It must be mutual. Love builds community. And community is what we need to survive. Community provides us with the life support to make it through whatever the world throws at us. You see: Jimmy Ha was supposed to die two months ago, but here he stood on this Thursday past. A living testament to the healing power of his family and his community.

Thank you Professor Jimmy Ha for this message, and this reminder.